The Best Pictures From 2018 CMA Fest’s Riverfront Stage

Hundreds of country music stars entertained thousands of fans at the 47th annual CMA Fest in Nashville this week (June 7-10). The Chevrolet Riverfront Stage is once again hosting the biggest stars of the free stages in 2018, including Jon Pardi, Scotty McCreery, Lee Brice, LoCash and Frankie Ballard. Superstar Luke Bryan even made a surprise appearance to the stage on Sunday, gifting CMA Fest tickets to two unsuspecting fans (the tickets were for that night's show featuring Bryan at Nissan Stadium).

On the Riverfront Stage, artists perform approximately 30 minute sets with an average of 10 performers per day, which is a common thread across most of the free stages. The festival kicked off with the CMA Awards Wednesday night (June 6) and flowed into Thursday, with 11 stages hosting a blend of country music up-and-comers and A-listers. The shows continue virtually nonstop through Sunday (June 10). Though the Riverfront hosts thousands of fans each day, CMA Fest shows at Nissan Stadium, which fans must purchase tickets for, clearly have the largest attendance. With 2018 performances by modern country's elite including Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, the aforementioned Luke Bryan, Keith Urban and more, it's the most star-studded series of the festival.

According to CMA, CMA Fest 2017 drew sold-out crowds to Nissan Stadium as well as capacity crowds at the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage and Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater. It was also noted that country music fans from all 50 states and at least 18 countries were in attendance. CMA Fest 2017 made for 167 hours of music from 350 plus artists and over 1,100 musicians.

Check out Taste of Country's ongoing photo gallery for CMA Fest above. Performances from Nissan Stadium will also air on the ABC television special CMA Fest: The Music Event of Summer later this year. Photos will be added through the weekend, so check back for more!